Saks' Sadove, Frasch To Leave Company After Hudson Bay Merger

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Saks Incorporated announced that upon completion of the merger with Hudson’s Bay Company, both Stephen Sadove, chairman and CEO of Saks, and Ronald Frasch, president and chief merchant of Saks, will be leaving the company.

Donald Hess, lead director of Saks’ board of directors, said, “Steve and Ron have been a great team over the last nine years. They are admired and respected throughout both the company and the retail industry. Their leadership, strategic focus, collaboration, creativity, and enthusiasm for the business have molded Saks into an iconic omni-channel luxury retailer."

Sadove and Frasch jointly said, “Saks has a great team, and working together, we have all accomplished so much over the last several years. We have developed and executed focused merchandising, marketing and service strategies. We survived the recession and emerged a stronger, more disciplined organization. We have continued to modernize the Saks brand and elevate and differentiate our merchandise assortments. Our marketing efforts have become even more strategic and targeted, and our brand and image marketing is among the best in the industry.”

The joint statement continued, “We have best-in-class talent, fashion and style authority, great vendor partnerships, and a record of innovation. We are extremely proud of the legacy that we are leaving to HBC.”

The planned merger transaction between Saks and HBC has been approved by each company's board of directors and is expected to close before the end of the calendar year, subject to approval by Saks shareholders and other customary closing conditions.